My Town

Peninsula readers' letters: October 10

From Daily News Group readers

Posted:
10/09/2012 12:08:16 AM PDT

Updated:
10/09/2012 11:11:39 PM PDT

Re-elect Pat Burt

Dear Editor: I have known Pat Burt for a number of years and know him to be a smart, innovative man with a great deal of common sense, so was happy to support him when he ran for Palo Alto City Council in 2007.

We don't agree on every issue, but I have never regretted my vote. Being on the council makes herding cats look simple, yet Pat has done a very good job. And in a rare sign of craziness, he's willing to do it for four more years.

With pension reform and other major budget issues still on the table, we need Pat Burt back on the council again.

Janice Hough

Palo Alto

Give Bechtel another term

Dear Editor: In these tough economic times, we need the leadership skills and business acumen of Betsy Bechtel, who is running for another term as trustee of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District.

She chaired a successful $490 million bond campaign that has made possible the renovation of our 50-year-old campuses, the upgrade of classrooms and the construction of new state-of-the-art labs and science buildings that will meet the educational challenges of the 21st century.

In addition, Bechtel's extensive experience in business helped facilitate negotiations among employee groups that saved more than $5 million annually in medical benefit costs. During Bechtel's tenure on the board, she has continually looked for creative ways to reduce expenses and increase efficiencies, but never at the expense of students or the quality of their education.

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In fact, Foothill and De Anza, despite ongoing and severe budget cuts from Sacramento, have remained nationally renowned for their innovative programs and academic excellence. Each year both colleges have been awarded membership to the prestigious League of Innovation.

From participating in the hiring of the college presidents and an outstanding chancellor, to spearheading the installation of a photovoltaic system to reduce the district's electric bill, Betsy Bechtel has been a dynamic, dedicated and highly effective trustee. She deserves our deep appreciation for her many contributions to our community colleges and our vote for another term on the Foothill-De Anza Board of Trustees.

Kathy Torgersen,

Foothill-De Anza Foundation board member

Facts behind lies

Dear Editor: Mark Twain said, "Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it."

As we head into the home stretch of the elections, we'll see more and more pants on fire. To uncover the facts behind the lies, check out these nonpartisan websites: www.factcheck.org and www.politifact.com.

Pat Marriott,

Los Altos

Obama and Benghazi

Dear Editor: On Monday, Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki mocked Mitt Romney's inexperience in the foreign policy arena. "We're not going to be lectured by someone who's been an unmitigated disaster on foreign policy every time he's dipped his toe in the foreign policy waters," Psaki told reporters traveling with the president Sunday. That criticism could be legitimate if it came from a president who had actually learned from his own experience.

The truth emerging about the bungled Benghazi fiasco resulting in the grotesque killings of our people is that not only did the "experienced" Obama administration know in advance about the danger to our personnel there, but it also did nothing to help them avoid it. Then they withheld information about the murder of our ambassador until they couldn't deny it anymore.

Obama has had almost four years on the job to gain foreign policy experience, having had zero when he was elected. Nobody has a crystal ball, but if our president can't learn on the job after so much opportunity, he should pick a different battle with Romney, rather than one in which he has failed so miserably himself.

Desmond Tuck,

San Mateo

Peace flotilla propaganda

Dear Editor: In response to Rachelle Marshall's Oct. 6 letter, it is a well-established fact that the "activists" of the Mavi Maramara were wielding many weapons and laying in wait for the Israeli soldiers to board so they could attack them. The Israeli navy gave innumerable warnings not to proceed. They had been told that they could dock at Ashdod and accompany their supplies to Gaza. However, this was not a humanitarian gesture but a terrorist mission blessed by the head of the terrorist group Hamas. It was a PR stunt to turn the world against the Israelis.

Further, the Gazans are not without food and supplies. The Israelis send in tons of supplies continually. If Hamas did not have in their charter and dedicate themselves to destroying Israel and if they did not continually launch missiles into Israel, there could be open borders. I wonder where Rachelle Marshall got her information. May I recommend reading facts instead of propaganda?

Roberta Zucker,

Tiburon

Send activists to Syria

Dear Editor: According to Rachelle Marshall (Letters, Oct. 6), there were "no weapons of any kind aboard the Mavi Marmara," the provocative "peace activist" ship that Israel was forced to board in May 2010. Strange then that some of the Israeli commandos who boarded the vessel were wounded during the incident. There is clear footage, widely available on YouTube, of "peace activists" attacking the Israeli commandos with weapons.

In fact, there were more weapons aboard that ship than humanitarian supplies, the nominal reason for the attempted voyage to Gaza. Much of the supposed aid that "peace activists" bring to Gaza is junk, and winds up in Gaza's dumps.

Scott Abramson (Letters, Oct. 4), to whose letter Ms. Marshall was responding, had a point: instead of protesting Israel, which is not wantonly killing the people of Gaza, why not send peace activists to Syria, a country actively at war with its own people?